Curtain holder



June 22 1926.

M. NIKOLA CURTAIN HOLDER Filed Nov. 27, 1925 [AWE/7'05 Patented June 22,1926.

warren STATES PATENT OFFICE.

MroHAEL'NIKoLA, or MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE.

CURTAIN HOLDER.

Application filed November This invention has general reference todevices for holding or draping curtains or other hangers inpredetermined positions relative to windows or other openings orsurfaces, but relates particularly to a device of the said generalcharacter which is especially adapted to be supported from window shadesor other similar members in connection with which such curtains or otherhangers frequently are used.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide a device ofthe sort just referred to, which:

May readily be attached to or detached from a member such as theshade-stick with which ordinary window shades commonly are provided, ator near their lower ends, and the position of which device relative tosaid member may quickly and easily be changed, preferably withoutdetaching the device from such member;

May retain or drape a curtain or other hanging loosely, without grippingor clamping it, or otherwise preventing certain in tended relativemovements between the curtain or other hanging and the member from whichthe holding or draping device is supported;

May be attached to a shade-stick, or the like, either at the end thereofor at any desired point between the two ends, and thus be adapted foruse, either with a shade having the stick at its lower edge, or with onein which a fringe or other portion of the shade extends below the stick;

May be largely concealed by the curtain or other hanging, so that only asmall portion of the holder will be visible from in front of thecurtain; and

May be constructed of a single piece of resilient wire, or the like,formed with a minimum number of different bends, or other changes ofshape, and without the necessity of having angular or other abrupt ormarkedly eccentric shaping.

The means by which I accomplish the foregoing and other objects by myinvention, and the manner of their accomplishment, readily will beunderstood from the follow ing description on reference to theaccompanying drawings, in which Fig. l is a front elevation, showing apair of windowv cu rtains,. and a window shade, with two of my improvedholders supported in corresponding positions upon the shadestick, whichis at the lower edge of the shade,

27, 1925. Serial N0. 71,563.

and with the curtains draped away from the vertical centre line of thewindow.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation, on a larger scale, of one of the holdersshown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a top plan View of the same, showing a portion of theshade-stick.

Fig. 4 is a sectional elevation, substantially on line IV-IV of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is an end elevation, showing the holder as applied to a shade inwhich the shade-stick is above the lower edge of the shade, and there isa fringe or other part of the shade extending below the stick.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary front elevation of the parts shown in Fig. 5.

As shown in the drawings, a curtain pole 5 is supported in brackets 6near the top of the window casing 7, and from said pole are suspended apair of curtains 8. The window shade 9 is suspended from a roller 10, bymeans of which the shade may be raised or lowered, and has at its lowerend the usual shade-stick 11, said stick being shown in Figs. 1, 3 and 4as being at the extreme lower edge of the shade, and in Figs. 5 and 6 ashaving a fringe 12 extending be low and in front of the stick.

In its preferred form, my improved holder is made from a single piece ofresilient wire, preferably circular in cross-section, bent between itsends to form a U- shaped portion 12, one end of which terminates in acircular coil 13, while the other leg extends beyond said coil, andterminates in a spiral comprising an inner circular coil 14 and an outercircular coil 15. The coils 13 and 14 may each be in the form of asingle ring, or either or both of said coils may of itself constitute aspiral, but in either case the contact portions of all parts of eachface of each coil preferably should lie in the same plane, so as tooppose smooth surfaces to the parts with which they are intended to comeinto contact. The coil 15 preferably comprises two or more adjacentrings, which reinforce each other in such a way as to increase theclamping or gripping action of this coil upon the Shadestick.

As shown in Figs. 1, 3 and 4, the holder is held in the desired positionupon the shade stick 11, by engagement of said stick between the coils14 and 15, the legs of the U-shaped portion of the holder extendingtoward the middle of the shade-stick, slightly below its lower edge, andparallel therewith, the holders being rights-and-lefts.

Thus each holder may be moved slidably on the stick to any desiredposition, without detaching it from the stick, and, since the inner edgeof the curtain, and the gathered portion adjacent thereto, are drapedloosely in the U-shaped portion of the holder, and are not clamped orgripped thereby, movement of the holders on the stick, or upward ordownward movement of the stick between the bottom of the window and aconsiderable distance thereabove, does not disarrange the curtainsundesirably, and their symmetrical draping is thus facilitated. In thisconnection, it will be noted that the provision for loose retention ofthe curtain by the holder, makes it possible to raise or lower the shadea considerable distance without detaching or otherwise changing thepositions of the holders, while at the same time maintaining symmetricaldraping of the curtains. Also, the curtains may be disengaged from theholders without moving the holders or any part thereof.

If, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6, a fringe or other part of the shadeextends below the shade-stick, it manifestly is not feasible, withoutmaking the holder larger than would be desirable, to place it upon thestick at a distance from the end thereof, since the fringe or otherdepending portion of the shade would then be drawn up by the U- shapedportion 12 of the holder, and thus distorted undesirably. Therefore,under such conditions, I prefer to place each holder at or near theextreme end of the stick, and, if necessary, to extend the legs of theU-shaped portion of the holder a greater distance than would benecessary or desirable in the case of holders that are intended for usewith shade-sticks at the lower edges of their respective curtains, so asto drape the curtains no farther away from the vertical center line ofthe window than would ordinarily be desired.

lVhether placed as shown in Figs. 1, 3 and et, or in the mannerindicated in Figs. 5 and 6, the greater part of the holder is concealedby the curtain, only the coil 13 and the leg terminated by said coilbeing visible from in front of the curtain. Also, since neither saidcoil, nor said leg, clamps or grips the curtain, said parts may, ifdesired, be entirely concealed by draping a fold of the curtain overthem. I regard the feature of adaptability for total or partialconcealment, and that of loose engagement of the curtain by the holder,as being important for the successful and satisfactory use of myimproved holder in the intended manner.

Various modifications of minor details of the present inventiondoubtless will readily suggest themselves to those skilled in the art towhich it appertains, and I therefore do not desire to be limited to theexact forms of construction shown and described herein. For example, theshape of one or more of the coils 13, I4 and 15 may be changed, or oneor more of said coils may have a plate or other member substitutedtherefor, or may be provided with a shield, envelope or other form ofcover, or the portion 12 may be other than U-shapedwithout departingfrom the spirit of my invention.

Having now fully disclosed the invention, what is claimed is 1. A devicefor draping curtains, comprising a resilient member, having at one endthereof means for clamping it to a window-shade stick, said member beingbent to form two substantially parallel portions adapted for the loosereception of a draped portion of a curtain therebetween.

2. A device for draping curtains, comprising a single piece of resilientmaterial, bent into substantially U-shape, and having at one endclamping means adapted to engage a window-shade stick, the two legs ofthe U providing a space adapted for the loose reception of a drapedportion of a curtain.

3. A device for draping curtains, comprising a single piece of resilientmaterial, bent into substantially U-shape, and having unitary with oneleg of the U, at the free end thereof, clamping means adapted to engagea window-shade stick, the other leg of the U being of less length thansaid firstnamed leg, and forming therewith a space adapted for the loosereception of a draped portion of a curtain.

'4. The combination of a window shade having a shade-stick, a windowcurtain adjacent said shade, and a device for draping said curtainrelative to said shade, comprising a member having clamping means forsecuring it to said stick behind said curtain, and means extending infront of a draped portion of said curtain, for retaining it in apredetermined position relative to said clamping means.

5. The combination of a Window shade having a shadestick, a windowcurtain adjacent said shade, and a device for draping said curtainrelative to said shade, comprising a resilient member bent to formclamping means for attaching it to said stick behind said curtain, andextending therefrom in front of said curtain and adapted to retain adraped portion thereof between such extension and said stick.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my name.

MICHAEL NIKOLA.

